Waste puller and method



May6,194. R. w. MILLER .2,241,151

. V WASTE FULLER AND METHOD Filedsept. 13, 1940 Patented May 6, 1941UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

WASTE FULLER AND METHCD Rudolph W. Miller, Winona, Minn.

Application September 13, 194), Serial No. 356,701

(Ci. iii- 82) 2 Claims.

The invention relates to waste pullers and to a method of pulling wastewhereby waste may be prepared for use, having a minimum of dust and ofexcessively short fibers.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a simple addition toa known form of waste puller to carry out the method of the inventionalthough the physical embodiment shown for purposes of illustration maybe widely varied to carry out the process of the invention,

Further objects will appear from the following description when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing showing an illustrativeembodiment of the apparatus of the invention and wherein The figure is aside elevation partly broken away and diagrammatic in character of awaste puller equipped with the apparatus of the invention.

Waste as received from the mills where it is produced, comprises massesof tangled threads. Many of these threads are several feet in length andthe mass contains much dust and other undesirable material.

To prepare this material for use, as in the journal boxes of railwaycars, as an oil absorbent, the masses of threads have to be reduced to ausable form. To this end the crude waste is subjected to the action of amachine of the character shown, which is well known.

Waste placed on the feed table lil and spread out as evenly as possibleis picked up by teeth on the main cylinder ll, from which it is pulledby teeth on cylinder l2, from there to cylinder I3 and back to the maincylinder, which process is repeated by other cylinders l2 and i3 in awell known manner.

The type of machine used for purposes of illustration is shown in patentto Proctor, 139,609,

dated June 3, 1873.

Each time the threads are pulled from one cylinder to another manythreads are broken and the act of snapping the threads acts much afterthe nature of an explosion which releases many short fibers. These shortfibers, in usual practice remain in the material. The presence of theseshort bers may not be greatly objectionable when the waste is used forsome purposes but is quite objectionable in the lubrication of railwayjournals. bers become frozen to the journal at times when the car isstationary in severe weather, and when again started the adheringportion is carried around under the brass and is the cause of hot boxes.

In the use named the short Much of the dust in waste can be removed I bybeating but not so with these short bers which will merely be feltedwith the long iibers by such treatment. It is diflicult to remove suchfibers after they have become embedded in the mass. In accordance withthe present invention they are removed while freely suspended in the airwhereby they are not allowed to become embedded.

To this end there is shown a suction device comprising a centrifugalblower I4 having its intake connected by a hood l5 to the casing I6 ofthe machine. Conveniently a cover, usually present at the pointindicated, may be removed and the hood I5 substituted.

The use of the suction device may cause sufcient draft of air to catchthe short bers on the fly as it were and remove them. Their removal maybe made more certain and thorough by provision of a positivelyintroduced blast or blasts of air delivered at the points of rupture ofthreads.

To this end there is shown a blower I6 delivering to conduits l1 whichintroduce the wanted blasts at I8 closely adjacent the points of ruptureof the threads. By this means the short bers are removed as released,and so separated from the moving threads as to not become entrappedtherein. Such removal effectually introduces the said short fibers intothe moving draft air created by the suction means.

Incidentally, of course dust released by the rapid movement and changesof direction of the threads, is eiectually removed.

Minor changes may be made in the physical embodiment of the apparatusand in the steps of the process of the invention without departing fromthe spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. A waste treating apparatus comprising, in combination: waste pullingapparatus acting to break threads comprised in the waste with release ofshort fibers; a housing enclosing said apparatus; means to direct airblasts to the 1ocation of thread snapping in the housing and means towithdraw air from the housing acting to produce air movement to removeshort fibers released by the snapping of the threads aided by said airblasts.

2. The process of preparing waste for industrial use which comprises:breaking the threads comprised in the Waste with release of short bersin an enclosed area; directing air blasts to the locations of threadbreaking to prevent settlement of said released fibers; continuing theremoval of the air-borne fibers by air currents induced by withdrawal ofair from the locations of thread-breaking and withdrawing the air-bornefibers from the enclosed area.

RUDOLPH W. MILLER.

